Dr. Color Is In

Meet the consultant who changed the face of San Francisco Victorians

Here's a piece of trivia about San Francisco's confection-colored Victorians: Their exteriors may owe less to the Victorian era than to a local resident who calls himself Dr. Color.

Photos: Dr. Color at Work

Jason Henry for The Wall Street Journal

Bob Buckter
graduated from San Francisco State University and was working as a house painter in the 1970s when he realized he had a knack for choosing colors. He didn't know much about original Victorian design—and still doesn't—but he persuaded people to pay him to be a color consultant, suggesting hues that would make their houses stand out without looking garish. In his first year as a full-time consultant, in 1978, he gained mainstream recognition when his business was mentioned in "Painted Ladies," a popular book about San Francisco Victorians. He worked on 40 buildings that year, but by 2006, near the peak of the housing boom, that number had risen to 650. Today, Mr. Buckter does about 300 jobs a year.

"The original paint color schemes were fairly drab and made sense for 1880, but do not make sense today," he said. "I look at myself as a contemporary colorist. I'm not going to put something up that does not make sense for 2012." These days, he said, sage and yellowish tones are popular, compared with a craze for earth tones like beige and brown when he started out in the 1970s.

Mr. Buckter starts each consultation by asking his clients which colors they like and which they hate. He suggests one modest color for the house's body and a slightly darker one for its base. The trim gets one pastel color and another dark one—an example of Mr. Buckter's break from traditional Victorian style, in which pastel trims were uncommon, contrary to popular belief. Finally, Mr. Buckter highlights architectural accents with surprising pops of color. The typical price for a consultation on "fancy" Victorian colors: $800.

Recently, he met with Liz and
John Warmerdam,
a couple in the San Francisco suburb of Alameda whose house was painted the muted yellow of a Post-it Note. Their neighbors had asked them to stick to a similar shade.

But when Mr. Buckter pulled some tan- and bronze-colored swatches from his briefcase, Ms. Warmerdam balked. "It's gold, yellowy gold," Mr. Buckter pressed, but when Ms. Warmerdam still hesitated, he pulled out swatches closer to the house's existing color.

That, plus a pastel trim and some accents in dark blue and aubergine, won over the Warmerdams. "I really like that," Ms. Warmerdam said.

Mr. Buckter whistled. "Key words," he said.

Paint by Number

Tips from Mr. Buckter on choosing colors for your home:

1. Make your house seem more solid by choosing a color for the base that is a couple of shades darker than the body color.

2. When you buy paint, be sure to test the colors by dabbing a dot of paint on your swatch. The color is exactly right only if you have trouble finding the dot once it's dry. If you don't, send it back.

3. When considering exterior colors, take a look next door, up and down the block, and across the street. Try to pick a palette different from the rest without disturbing the neighborhood's overall vibe. A house that fits into San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, known for its wacky, '60s-era colors, might seem monstrous in the more conservative Marina area near the waterfront. On the other hand, the Warmerdams' yellow house will stand out nicely because none of the other houses on their block use similar colors.

4. Consider the longevity of the paints you choose. The gold leaf used for accents may seem pricey, but it can last for decades.

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